In fairness to Kieran Crowley, emotions were running high when he stepped into the press conference room in the bowels of the Stadio Olimpico.
The Italy coach felt more than a little aggrieved by some of the refereeing decisions that had gone against him, so the question of whether Italy could feasibly progress much further while playing such cavalier rugby rankled him a little.
"Italy are where they are because of the way they have played over the last 10 years. If we keep doing the same thing we have always done, we will always be in the same place," he said.
It's a valid point. At a small bar outside of the stadium, a repeat of Italy’s 2017 defeat to England was playing for reasons only known to the owner.
That was the game when Italy caused havoc with the offside line, leaving England’s players baffled and resulting in a law change. Yet, despite confusing England with an intricacy of the law, they still lost comfortably.
That’s what Crowley wants to get away from. Relying on what was essentially a gimmick to get close in a game isn’t sustainable. So, he wants a style of play that works from top to bottom. A philosophy, an identity.
Which brings us on to the killer line.
"Wales beat us today by box-kicking," Crowley continued. "They beat us in the aerial game. I know what sort of game I would rather play."
Many a Wales fan would perhaps share that sentiment, you'd imagine. For years, many pined for a more free-flowing style of rugby, yet when that didn't work out under Wayne Pivac, those same fans harked back for the comfort of Warren Gatland. Now he's had a rocky start, there's more than a few starting to believe that Wales need to develop an all-court game. Whatever we don't have, we want, it would seem.
Now that's fair enough, of course, in a time when Welsh rugby feels like one soul-destroying crisis after another. Right now, making the national team work in the short-term can feel like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.
But the fact remains that Wales' identity has been hard to define for some time and results have been hit because of it. All too often, Wales seem caught between trying to play too much and too little.
That was expected to change as Gatland was expected to lean into pragmatism, but early on in this tournament, Wales looked as if they were intent on playing in the same manner as they did under Wayne Pivac.
One former Wales international well versed in the nuances of the breakdown told this writer how baffled he was that Gatland hadn’t reverted to the pick-and-go heavy approach that was present on their way to a Grand Slam, number one in the world and a World Cup semi-final in 2019. But, for three matches, that wasn’t really there.
Wales looked to play off 9 and 10 in relatively similar pod formations to Pivac’s Wales. But the lack of heavy carriers remains apparent.
Danny Care made a good point about England playing with ‘speed over shape’ in the win in Cardiff when it comes to phase play. At times, Wales have been able to produce good speed of ball, but even with decent ruck speed, the one-up runners were being met at or behind the gain-line and being dictated in contact as a result.
Early on against Italy though, Wales worked the fringes well - moving from pick-and-go to a quick pop pass to target a ruck guard. Defences can’t dictate collisions if they can’t get off the line. It was better from Wales and what we’d half expected them to do from the start.
So too was the kicking game. Against England, Wales came under criticism for constantly kicking to full-back Freddie Steward.
However, Gatland felt it was still Wales’ best chance of victory. Execution was the issue, not the idea, would have been his thought process.
Against Italy, Wales got their kicking game right. From the off, Rhys Webb’s box-kick’s were contestable and awkward. With Rio Dyer chasing so well, it was a nightmare for Italy to deal with.
Wales’ kicking out of hand was strong too, if not helped by the fact that Italian full-back Tommaso Allan - drafted in for the injured Ange Capuozzo - appeared to be on a separate book, let alone the same page, as the rest of his back- three.
It wasn’t perfect. Discipline is still a massive concern.
Defensively, Wales were cut apart too easily in midfield - Italy’s deception on pull-back passes is light years ahead of Wales’ which is why an all-court game capable of breaking the defence down from virtually anywhere seems unlikely. However, when they were penetrated, they scrambled well and worked hard for each other - typified by captain Ken Owens’ work to get back to stop a first-half score.
Italy were wasteful, but, Wales so often managed to buckle without breaking.
They still need to be bolder with ball in hand. Wales won’t hurt teams from deep, but there’s still the need for a little more invention when in striking range.
Even if the idea is to capitalise upon the mistakes you force, you still need to finish them off. In that sense, the work on transition for Liam Williams’ score was a step forward.
A lot of the things mentioned above are the hallmarks of the side of 2019. That would appear to be the road Wales are heading towards ahead of the World Cup.
In Rome, Italy were at times joyous to watch. But Wales came to spoil the party and did so. They were, more often than not, pragmatic, dogmatic, streetwise and assured in their roles as party poopers.
Gatland hates the term, but this was Warrenball as we once knew it.
That’s the identity sorted and, in some positions, Wales seem to have settled on personnel better suited to it. The question now is how it stands up to bigger tests.
In Paris next week, you’ll struggle to find one much bigger.
READ MORE:
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Wales player ratings as Rhys Webb rolls back the years but winger frustrated after Gatland call
